GUINNESS - 'MAY CONTAIN FISH'

AS Mars agrees not to use rennet in chocolate, here are the surprise foods which contain animal products...

CHOCOLATE giant Mars was yesterday forced into an embarrassing U-turn by the nation's angry vegetarians and vowed to stop using animal products in its confectionery.

Earlier this month top sellers including Mars Bars, Bounty, Snickers, Twix, Milky Way, Maltesers and Minstrels were taken off the menu for veggies.

From May 1, Mars changed the whey used in its sweet snacks from a vegetable source to one containing rennet, a natural enzyme produced in the stomachs of calves.

The company said it took the decision "to ensure the availability of our supply", but many industry experts believe it was a cost-cutting move.

The decision provoked outrage among customers. In just seven days, more than 6,000 people contacted the Vegetarian Society. A petition against the move was also signed by 40 MPs.

Now the firm has apologised to all its veggie customers, and reverted to its original recipes.

"We underestimated the impact this would have," said Fiona Dawson, MD of the Mars snack business in the UK.

"The consumer is our boss... and it became very clear, very quickly that we had made a mistake, for which I am sorry."

Veggies might have won this battle with Mars, but there are many more to be fought before they win the war to publicise animal products in all foods.

Here are some of the other products out there which still contain these ingredients...

KELLOGG'S FROSTED WHEATS

THIS cereal contains beef gelatine to glue the sugar to the wheat. Gelatine is obtained from the collagen of animals' connective tissue.

PESTO

SACLA green pesto, Cirio pesto sauce and other brands are made with real parmesan, which like the now-scrapped Mars Bars contains rennet from calves' stomachs.

GUINNESS

THE black stuff is clarified with isinglass - a form of gelatine made from the air bladders of fish. It's only a minute amount but technically it's still a fishy pint.

A vegetarian-friendly alternative used in some beers is Irish moss.

All German beers are also safe for veggies because of a law from 1516 which states their beer must contain only four products - hops, water, sugar and yeast.

MULLER LIGHT YOGHURT

SOME low-fat yoghurts contain gelatine. Muller Light yoghurts and Muller Vitality are made with gelatine, while Muller Rice and Fruit Corners are not. Muller is now looking into using veggie alternatives. Weight Watchers' citrus fruit yoghurts also contain the animal product.

WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

MANY people aren't aware that they are splashing fish sauce over their cheese toastie when they use Lea & Perrins.

Made with anchovies, the firm won't be changing the recipe any time soon as it dates back 170 years to 1837. Bovril went veggie for about a year a while back, but then reintroduced the beef extract. Veggies can eat Marmite, which is made from yeast extract.

BASSETT'S LIQUORICE ALLSORTS

THE red colouring E120 cochineal used in these sweets is made by extracting the red body material from pregnant beetles. It's also found in M&Ms.

TOILETRIES

MOST brands of soap and some toothpastes and mouthwash contain glycerine, which may have been produced from animal fat. If in doubt, look out for special veggie soaps and toothpastes.

MAYNARDS WINE GUMS

THESE chewy sweets have gelatine in them, as do Waitrose Jelly Babies and some Haribo sweets. Other sweets with animal additives are Princess Marshmallows and Trident Splash chewing gum which contain beef gelatine.

ALCOHOL

SOME wines have been clarified using isinglass from the air bladders of fish.

Wine can also contain dried blood and gelatine. Some Russian and Eastern European vodkas aren't suitable for veggies because bone charcoal may have been used in their production. Some whiskies are aged in sherry barrels which of course is a fortified wine and so may contain animal products.